Behind every start-up and soldier
Israel's diplomats are renowned for their tenacity, but that didn't start at the negotiation table, it was built around the family table.
Let me set the scene.
I’m at a corner grocery in Tel Aviv picking up a few things.
The man behind the counter, young, strong, good looking, is handling a growing line with effortless ease.
Phone tucked between chin and shoulder, he is saying, “Yes Mum, no I am not moving home, I ate the food it was good thanks.”
As he speaks, his entire demeanour softens.
Despite the line increasing, not a single soul complains. His mother on the other end of the line comes first. And right there, in that quiet pause, is the true powerhouse behind Israel’s success.
Forget tech start-ups, advanced military, and agricultural innovations, the Jewish mother, that unassuming but unstoppable force, is holding up this country, pushing it forward with love, guilt, and, more often than not, unrelenting encouragement.
Israel’s start-up scene is world-renowned, with innovations like Waze and Mobileye. Many attribute this success to Israel’s bold, resourceful culture, but look deeper, and you’ll find the real motivation.
With every mother’s well-timed question, so when will you finally make something of yourself? another start-up is born.
Now let’s turn to Israel’s military. It has a global reputation for resilience, but its true secret weapon is not the latest tech, it is the endless flow of care packages from home packed with challah sandwiches and home-cooked meals.
Soldiers know that braving enemy fire is one thing, but leaving homemade hummus untouched, unthinkable.
Israel’s diplomats are renowned for their tenacity, but that didn’t start at the negotiation table, it was built around the family table.
“When am I going to get grandchildren?”
“Why don’t you visit more often?”
Statistics show that years of handling these questions turn Israelis into world-class negotiators long before they take on a formal role.
Even Israel’s agricultural achievements, stem from the often-heard admonishment, “Finish what’s on your plate, do you know how many people would love to have that food?”
This ethos of never wasting has become a national mission to ensure everyone has enough to eat, even if that means inventing drip technology to grow food in the desert.
Growing up, I dreamed of becoming a fashion designer.
When my grades qualified me for law, my mother’s raised eyebrows settled the matter.
“Fashion?” she’d ask. “You could be a lawyer, and you want to sew clothes in a basement?”
Fast-forward a few years, and I am a lawyer, fulfilling that unspoken contract. I guess in the end, Israel’s strength lies in the unbreakable spirit of love.
Ladled out in bowls of chicken soup, delivered over long-distance calls, and wrapped up in every care package.
Behind every start-up and soldier is a mother who made her expectations known and made sure no one left the table hungry.
Sharon Givoni, a Melbourne intellectual property lawyer and writer recently returned from Israel.
comments